Have you heard God?

 

Imagine God spoke to you. 

You are alone at home, perhaps in your garden, or you are out on a walk in the countryside or by the sea, and God spoke to you.

How would He sound like?

Would He have a loud baritone voice like that of Morgan Freeman in the film Evan Almighty? Or would He sound like George Burns in the film Oh God!? Or would He sound like Jesus, a soft kind voice, like in all the films on TV and the cinema?

And what would He say to you to stop you from being traumatised and frightened out of your mind?

Whatever He said would certainly shake you like nothing ever before.

I wonder, why doesn't God speak clearly to us today as He did in the Old Testament times? We know He spoke to the prophets and to people like Abraham, Moses and others like Noah and Jonah; so why not speak to us today?

Actually, it is because we humans (or our ancestors to be precise) asked Him not to. At the time of Moses God spoke loudly.  

The Israelites heard the voice of God clearly and were frightened that they would die, so they asked Moses to go and listen to God and relay His messages to the people. They asked God to stop talking; and God agreed. (Deuteronomy 5:23 onwards ...)

However, since then and up to now, God continues to speak to people softly in their souls. It may not be a loud voice as in the times of Moses, but He does speak to us - you and me - if only we are willing to listen.

And before you ask ... when God is speaking to you He makes sure you know it is Him speaking to you.

Love

 

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 'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all. 

 

Alfred Lord Tennyson

 

Is this really true? Sometimes the one we have lost still lingers in our memories as we wonder what might have been.

 

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Harry Nilsson 

 

Big Bang Theory Explained Simply

 

 

I don't know why some people have difficulty believing the Big Bang Theory of creation. 

It is very simple.

There was a Big Bang precisely 13.8 billion years ago (give or take a billion years either way) and somehow all the energy in the cosmos was squeezed inside a small space smaller than an atom. 

And then this energy ballooned at a great rate. 

And then all this heat produced began to cool and by 380,000 years later it cooled enough for things to begin to happen. 

Long story short, we got all the planets and the sun and Earth and moons and so on. And that's how the Universe started.

And eventually, on Earth some slime left a pool of muddy water and slowly evolved into a life form; which eventually evolved into humans.

Simple isn't it? 

We all originate from slime and we evolved into what we are now. Although some are still evolving. 

What's so difficult about that? 

At work a colleague of mine was hit in the face by an automatically operated door which opened outwards and "BANG" broke her nose. She went to hospital and they fixed it given her a much more pretty nose. It would not have happened without the DOOR BANG.

BANG !!! &*** ? ****@ ? !!! 

Sorry about that. She just hit me on the head for writing about her!

Tales of Tails

 

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8176605044 

TALES OF TAILS

This is a very unusual book indeed. It was written by a man and his pets.

Do you like animals? Then this book is for you. It contains loads and loads of humourous (and serious) facts about animals, and birds, and fishes, and insects, and all sorts of other creatures.

Did you know for instance that if an earwig enters your ear it can get out of the other ear and you would not feel a thing?

Or if a snail climbs up your leg it would take a week before you get excited?

Or when a bat sleeps upside down it goes to the bathroom whilst asleep? Try it yourself hanging from a hammock and see!

These and many other facts are included in this book, which you can fact-check for yourself, or just sit back and enjoy the humour instead.

Each article in this book (there are over 60) has a hidden moral. Find out what it is, or make up one of your own.

Life is meant to be funny. Don’t take it seriously. Have you ever seen an animal worried about tomorrow?

Just relax and enjoy!

IDEAL CHRISTMAS GIFT

 

AMAZON LINK HERE 

I watch the sunrise

 

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FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE

 

WEBSITE HERE

 

 

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I watch the sunrise lighting the sky,
Casting its shadows near.
And on this morning bright though it be,
I feel those shadows near me.

 

But you are always close to me
Following all my ways.
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord.

 

I watch the sunlight shine through the clouds,
Warming the earth below.
And at the mid-day, life seems to say:
I feel your brightness near me.

 

For you are always close to me
Following all my ways.
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord.

 

I watch the sunset fading away,
Lighting the clouds with sleep.
And as the evening closes its eyes,
I feel your presence near me.

 

For you are always close to me
Following all my ways.
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord.

 

I watch the moonlight guarding the night,
Waiting till morning comes.
The air is silent, earth is at rest
Only your peace is near me.

 

Yes, you are always close to me
Following all my ways.
May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord.

 

 May I be always close to you
Following all your ways, Lord.

We all need some laughter ... or a smile

 

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Is that enough Blogging for me?

 

Someone asked me the other day: Why do you Blog?

I didn't have a good answer. "Is it vanity?" I thought. "Do I really have anything important to say? And does anyone really care what I say?"

The only purpose of this Blog is to educate, inform and entertain. That's three purposes; perhaps I should add teaching Math as a fourth purpose.

Anyway ... to educate because learning is gradual. You cannot learn to ride a bike by trying a unicycle first.

To inform because if I did not tell you you'd probably still be trying a unicycle.

To entertain you because I just received this from my friend William: 

To Blog or not to Blog
That is the question.
Whether it is nobler in the mind
To keep one’s thoughts to oneself
Than reveal them to all
On screens large and small.
And by doing such
Suffer the slings and arrows
Of outrageous readers
Who’d rather Block you
Than read your feeble Tweeters.
Or to bravely face your qualms
And courageously Blog on
Regardless of your audience
Be it great or be it small;
Just Blog on into eternity
And have yourself a ball!

So there you have it. I'm Blogging and having a ball!

Positive Thinking

 

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Morecambe and Wise 

 

Click on Closed Caption (CC)

top right of video

for lyrics. 

Let it be

 

Let it be

(Beatles)

 

In God we trust (Not)

 

This may be controversial; but do we really trust God? Do we really ... really ... trust God when things go wrong in our lives? Or do we harbour that element of doubt, of fear, or of suspicion that perhaps He is not listening to our prayers, or He will not respond.

God listens to all prayers. But does not always respond. He does not owe us a response. If God answered all prayers there would be no more funerals.

The important thing here is not whether He responds to our prayers but the spirit in which we pray. Do we pray expectantly in full knowledge that He cares and loves us? Not an arrogant or "entitled" expectation, but a hopeful loving one as that of a child to a good parent. Or do we pray half-heartedly for something to do, something to tick off our list, just like buying a lottery ticket on the off-chance it will win?

When Jesus walked on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) Peter took a chance at trust and said, "Lord if it is you tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus told him to come.

Peter got out of the boat and discovered he could walk on the water. Can you imagine that? A mere human able to walk on water. He must have been "wowed" out of his mind.

But then at the slightest gust of wind he lost focus and began to sink. His trust in Jesus had suddenly disappeared.

Just like us perhaps when unexpected events suddenly disturb our lives.

Recently something happened to me. Of course, I was worried, concerned at how it would affect me and my family, wondering about the future.

As I calmed down a little and remembered to pray, (prayer is often a second or third option isn't it?), a thought came to my mind: This is another opportunity to trust God.

Whatever difficulty I was facing at the time became an opportunity to trust God. 

Is that perhaps the way we should meet and encounter any obstacle in life? Not with fear and dread, but as an opportunity to trust God. Trust Him totally - in full expectation.

It is no point having faith in a Master who walks on water if we do not trust Him enough to follow Him. 

Nights in White Satin

 

Nights in White Satin - Moody Blues 

Relative wisdom

 

I was reading the Bible the other day, as I do most days. It was about King Solomon. (1 Kings 2:1 onwards).

He was very wise apparently. The Queen of Sheba visited him to hear him make speeches and was impressed at this wisdom.

He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines.

Can you imagine having to deal with seven hundred mothers-in-law? And that does not include the concubines' mothers.

It does not seem very wise to me!

Camels Ahoy!

 

Once upon a time there were two camels ruminating with each other. One said to the other, "Tell me Quentin," he said; "Tell me ... Quentin ... why do we have these big humps on our backs?"

Quentin, who was a scientist by trade as well as being a camel, replied, "Actually Zephanaia, a camel's hump stores fat, not water, as it is wrongly assumed. I read it in a book. This fat acts as an energy reserve that can sustain us for weeks or months when food is hard to find in the desert. When our body burns this fat, it creates energy and metabolic water. Hence the misconception that the humps contain water!"

Zephanaia thought for a bit and then asked, "Why do we have such big eye lashes?"

Quentin replied, "This is to keep the dust off our eyes during a sandstorm when we're in the desert."

Zephanaia flashed his eyelashes and asked once more, "Why do we have such big flat feet?"

Quentin said, "This is to help us walk and keep steady in shifting sands in the desert!"

Zephanaia thought for a bit and asked again, "What are we doing in London Zoo then?"

And the moral of this story, ladies and gentlemen, is to remember where you are at any moment in life and what are you doing there. Should you move on to pastures new or is there still something to be done where you are right now.

When things around you get really black it is time to send them to the laundry!

X Ray

 

Radiologist: Do come in. Please place any metal objects you are carrying in this tray. Metal reacts with the X Ray. 

Patient: Just like Superman? Can't see through lead?

Radiologist: Something like that ... oh ... I notice you have ear-rings. Can you take them off please and place them in the tray.

Patient: They are silver!

Radiologist: Still metal ... don't worry; I won't steal them. Oh ... you've also got a stud on your eyebrow. Please take this off too. And all other rings and studs and so on.

Patient: I'll try. It's a bit difficult ...

Radiologist:Take off your top, and any vest you're wearing. Any more piercings I need to know about?

Patient: Ehm ... my nipples. I have studs through my nipples too.

Radiologist: I see ... Are they difficult to remove?

Patient: I'll try ... they've been there for a while. Sorry ...

Radiologist: No need to apologise. I am not judging ... just that any metal objects interfere with the X Ray and should be removed.

Patient: It will be difficult removing the ring on my navel. The tattooist told me it's an expert job.

Radiologist: On your navel? I understand ... I'll need to call a specialist nurse to remove this for you. Anything else I need to know about?

Patient: There's a stud on my tongue and cheeks, as well as the rings you can see through my nose.

Radiologist: I noticed them. The specialist nurse will deal with those too.

Patient: Also ... also ... I have a couple of studs and a ring somewhere else ... 

Radiologist: You mean ...

Patient: Yes ... in my private parts ... 

Radiologist: Must have been painful ... and inconvenient ...

Patient: It was at first, but it's good fun. It allows me to express myself ... it's me being me ... isn't it?

Radiologist: I understand ... The thing is all that metal in the studs and rings are an obstruction to the X Ray waves ... you know how an antenna gets sound waves coming through to a TV or radio aerial; all this metal you are wearing acts in reverse and interferes with the X Rays. 

Patient: Actually, it does act like a short-wave radio aerial! Sometimes I can hear music.

Radiologist: What? Heavy Metal music is it?

Patient: It's true ... I think all my jewellery and studs and rings act like a radio aerial. Sometimes, in the shower I hear music.

Radiologist: All right ... I understand ... take your clothes off and let's listen to some Black Sabbath music whilst waiting for the specialist nurse to arrive.    

Forgiveness

 

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Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?”

“No, not seven times,” answered Jesus, “but seventy times seven ..." Matthew 18:21 onwards.

By my calculations this makes 490 times. I've forgiven someone 489 times; so they're getting very close to a thump on the head!  

Seriously though, Jesus is teaching us here to forgive any wrongdoings against us time and again. But what is forgiveness?

It is to accept the wrongdoing done to us and not to seek any revenge, retribution, punishment, pay-back of any ill-will against the one who hurt us. To just let him go freely. Whether he has asked for forgiveness or not. Whether he cares for our forgiveness or not. Just let him go and in your heart truly forgive him.

This does not necessarily mean reconciliation. There are times when reconciliation is not possible, nor advisable. Just let the person go freely in peace.

Also, this does not mean that the hurt will go away. Often the hurt will remain with you. The slightest memory, and the pain and the hurt of the wrongdoing done to you will return. Use this as a trigger to forgive once again. Whenever Jesus sees the wounds in His hands, feet and side He forgives once again. Be like Jesus.

When the bad memories come back pray for the one who hurt you. You cannot possible hate anyone you pray for.

And should you hear news or gossip that something bad has happened to the one who has hurt you, do not rejoice at his misfortune. This nullifies all your forgiveness.    

If the person who has hurt you has passed away, He is now in the sight of God and has seen the event in all its facets and his role, and yours, in it. The matter is between him and God now.

If you were in any way guilty in the event, ask God for forgiveness and earnestly repent for your part in it. 

And accept God's forgiveness. Don't keep going back on the events and wonder if you've been forgiven, and feel guilty all over again. By doing so you're insulting God by suggesting He hasn't truly forgiven you.

Now ... have you got a calculator?